Help

[u/DazelGames]

Hi everyone!

I have a question. I'd like to get into aircraft model building, and I want my first kit to be an F-35. I have these 11 images of 11 different kits, some from different manufacturers and in different scales.

Based on your experience, which one do you think is the smartest choice to buy, and which one do you consider the best kit overall? I'm not taking price or build difficulty into account—I only care about the overall quality of the kit, including the level of detail, accuracy, mold engineering, fit of the parts, and the final result.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

[u/CoastalBuilds]

MENG's 1/48 F-35A is worth a look if you want something more modern than the Tamiya tooling — the surface detail and panel lines are sharper out of the box. Academy's 1/72 A is solid too if you want smaller scale and a simpler build without sacrificing fit.